


Bounty

by ThatGoblin



Series: Reset [1]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Gen, I have feelings, M/M, Mentions of Infant Death, OFC - Freeform, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, counselor link, it's 5am and I should not be awake but here i am, private investigator rhett, super sad start, touch starve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGoblin/pseuds/ThatGoblin
Summary: Rhett and Link have some unpaid parking tickets that are going to get them in trouble.
Relationships: Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Reset [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706683
Comments: 12
Kudos: 6





	Bounty

“McLaughlin! I got a job for you!” 

I looked up from the paperwork I had been doing, bored out of my mind before stuffing it into the file it had come in. 

“Yes! Stevie, love of my life, light of my heart, tell me it’s a good one,” I said, walking over to get a look from her. 

“Seems you’re on the hunt for a blast from your past,” the redhead said, handing me a file. “12 unpaid parking tickets and has not shown up to court.” I opened the file and wanted to throw it away, but seeing bounty on it, I kept it. “Also a second one. 4 unpaid jaywalking tickets, 3 failure to signal tickets, and 1 speeding ticket.” Stevie handed me another file and the bounty was just as much. 

“And a partridge in a pear tree,” I said with a snort. “Merry Christmas to me.”

“It’s April,” Stevie said before turning back to the computer. 

“Well, it’ll feel like Christmas when I turn these two idiots in,” I said, taking their addresses to shove into my back pocket. “With a nice bonus for you too.”

“Oh happy days,” Stevie said dryly. 

“You know, you could be a bit more cheery about life,” I said, folding the legal paperwork I needed before putting it into my jacket pocket. 

“I could, but then we’d be friends and we can’t have that,” Stevie said, not looking back.

“Of course, we wouldn’t want that,” I said. “Alright, I’m off. Hold down the fort and don’t set it on fire. Again.”

“I make no promises,” Stevie said as I walked out the door. Walking over to my car, I pulled out the keys as I dialed a phone number I had tried to forget over the last year. Somehow it was second nature and I didn’t even hesitate on a number.

“Hello?” A man’s voice came over the line. I hadn’t heard it in nearly a year and I began to have doubts about this job. “Hello?”

“Hey. . . It’s me,” I said, swallowing back every emotion that wanted to be thrown up into the phone. “I need to talk to someone. Are. . . Are you available?” There was a sigh then silence. I thought he’d hung up on me, but a jostling noise told me he was still there.

“Sure, where do you want to meet?” He asked.

“Joe’s coffee shop? Half an hour?” I asked. I felt a little bad about tricking him, but then again I had bills to pay. So I didn’t feel too bad. 

“Okay, see you there,” he said before hanging up. Getting into my care, I put my phone in the middle console. The drive to the coffee shop was short thankfully and I was able to get a good parking spot to wrangle my target into it. Los Angeles had its ups and downs, but the ups were that it really wasn’t as big as everyone thought. It was just clusters of other towns all grouped together. My ex and I had lived there for most of our adult lives before we split. Going our separate ways had meant chaos and disarray at first, but then I got my current job after a few months and it was something I could throw myself into. 

We stayed in this burrough of sorts because while it was Los Angeles, it was also a close knit community of sorts. People knew each other, local places were more abundant than chains, it just felt like back home. At Joe’s, I pulled up to park on the street before getting out of my black sedan. Stevie called it my stalker car because every movie where someone was being followed, it seemed to be my car following. 

Joe’s coffee shop was a local favorite with an outdoor patio. In April it was a sunny day so there were lots of people there sunbathing while sipping on iced coffees. Going in, I ordered one myself before picking a spot outside. Lazily sipping my drink, I pulled out my phone to check the time. I was never patient and even when I was early and he was on time, it got on my nerves. 

“Hey Syd.” 

I looked up to see him standing there with almost a sad look on his face. 

“Hey Rhett,” I said, standing up. Did I hug him? Shake hands? High five? This was a bad idea. We’d divorced over a year ago and hadn’t talked to each other since, but now his stupid unpaid parking tickets brought him back into my life. We were supposedly soulmates. We had the marks that everyone was born with. Everyone had a soulmate apparently, people even had more than one at a time. It was supposed to mean we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, some magical fairy tale that adults tell children. 

If you found your soulmate you would feel more deeply, be more in tune with the other, have this special bond that no one else could have with you. Rhett and I had had that bond. But then we didn’t. Things changed and we lost the bond or it broke or something and we couldn’t hack it. So, we divorced. I covered my mark on my hand with a small black bar, but Rhett didn’t. I hated that he still had it. Just three simple arrows in a row on his forearm. We were meant to be together, so say the powers that be, but we proved them wrong. Life wasn’t a fairy tale. 

“Everything okay?” He asked, sitting across from me, shaking me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, just. . . Got lost for a second,” I said, sitting up. 

“You seeing that counselor still?” He asked. I nodded, taking a deep breath. I wasn’t there to catch up, I was there to collect a bounty. “Good,” he said.

“I do have a question though,” I said, pulling out the legal paperwork. 

“About what?” Rhett asked with a frown.

“12 unpaid parking tickets? You have 12 unpaid parking tickets?” I asked as I shook my head at him.

“What about them?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. “How do you know about that?” 

“Because you’ve got a warrant out for your arrest,” I said. “And I’m here to take you in.”

“Jesus,” Rhett groaned. “You’re a bounty hunter now?”

“Yup! You’re gonna earn Mama a new mattress,” I said with a snort. Rhett pinched his nose as he stayed sitting.

“This is a joke, isn’t it? It’s a really bad joke,” he said, looking at me. “Just tell me it’s a joke.”

“Not a joke,” I said, showing my badge and my paperwork. “You never paid the tickets or showed up to court.” 

“Fuck me,” Rhett hissed. 

“Everything okay, Rhett?” 

I turned to see another man walk over with glasses on. Wait a second. 

“Don’t tell me, you’re Link Neal?” I asked, looking up at him. 

“Uh, I am,” the man said, frowning as he looked to me.

“Oh wow, this has got to be the luckiest break ever!” I said, laughing as I stood up.

“Rhett?” Link said.

“Easiest job I’ve ever had,” I said, pulling out the handcuffs from my belt.

“You’re not actually going to take me in,” Rhett said. “This is just a heads up, right?”

“Oh no. I’m for real arresting you both right now,” I said. “Unpaid parking tickets, jay walking and traffic tickets, you’re both wanted in court with no appearance, this is truly an April Christmas miracle.” 

“I’m still confused, Rhett?” Link said, looking to the other. 

“Wait, how do you two know each other?” I asked, realizing they had shown up together.

“Link, this my ex-wife, Sydney. Sydney, this is my boyfriend, Link,” Rhett said as he stood up. 

I did not expect to feel that pang in my chest hit so hard. 

“Wait, so she’s the one-” Link started.

“Yes, she is the one,” Rhett nodded. “Now, when you’re done goofing around, Sydney, I have to go. We have plans. Can’t believe after almost a year of not talking and avoiding each other this is how you choose to show up again.”

“Oh, uh, it was nice to finally meet you,” Link said nervously, holding out his hand for me to take. Fuck this. I slapped a cuff onto Link who cried out in confusion as I easily turned him to get his other hand. 

“I wasn’t kidding,” I grunted as I handled Link, directing him to my car.

“Sydney!” Rhett snapped. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“Like I said, I have arrest warrants for both of you. You’re lucky I even told you that,” I snapped back at him. Opening the car door, I put Link in the back before shutting the door. Rhett didn’t seem to think it was going to go far, instead choosing to get on the phone with someone. 

“Yes, hello?” He said before I ripped his phone from him to hang up. “What the hell!?”

“Rhett, just let me cuff you so we can get this over with and we can move on with our lives,” I said. 

“What is wrong with you? Normal ex’s don’t arrest each other,” he said, struggling a moment before he remembered suddenly I used to do this for a living with a simple arm twist I had him submitting.

“Yeah, well, we’re not normal ex’s,” I said with a sigh, putting the cuffs extra tight on his wrists. “Now shut up and get in the car.” Dragging him to the other side, I pushed him in next to Link before getting in myself. 

“Are we being kidnapped?” Link asked as I pulled out onto the road.

“You’ve both got warrants out for your arrest because you two dumbasses didn’t pay tickets on time or show up to court,” I said. “5 years we were together and you never learned to pay the damn tickets.”

“I was gonna pay them,” Rhett said with a huff. “Just been busy.”

“Uh huh,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. Link seemed to just be in a constant state of confusion, but kept quiet at least. The drive to the police station was short as well and usually if there was more than one to book I would have other people with me, but given that those two weren’t going to really give me trouble, I didn’t worry too much. With both of them in cuffs and compliant, I was able to get them booked easily enough. 

“Hey, McLaughlin,” the officer at the desk, Chase, said as Rhett and Link were being taken to be processed. I paused in my get away, ready to run as far and fast as I could. 

“Yeah?” I said, walking back over. I could see Rhett staring at me hard from the cubicle he was in with Link. No doubt he heard the officer call me back over, still using his last name.

“Just need you to sign a few things for us,” Chase said. 

“Alright fine, but it better be quick, I got a lunch date with a Blood Mary,” I said with a huff. 

“You never changed your name,” Rhett said, looking at me with a frown. 

“Uh… No, no I did not,” I said, trying to ignore him. 

“Why didn’t you change your name?” He asked.

“Because it’s a bitch to file paperwork and I’ve already been writing it for nearly 5 years. I made it a habit,” I said, glancing at him.

“No, no, you were filing for divorce before you even brought it up to me. You filed everything before saying a word,” Rhett said. “Why didn’t you change your name?”

“I swear to god, Rhett,” I hissed. The police station should have been buzzing about with noise, but as Rhett kept demanding, everything and everyone went quiet. 

“Just tell me why you didn’t change your last name,” he said. 

“Because I still love you, okay?!” I snapped. “I still love you, but we are not good together and it’s one piece of us that I can have. So there, there’s your answer, in front your new boyfriend.”

“Syd,” Rhett said with a sigh. 

“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off. “Anything else for me to sign?” I asked, glaring at Chase. 

“Uh, no that’s it,” Chase said. I hadn’t meant to crumble so easily. I thought I was stronger than that, but seeing him again, with someone else. . . What was I supposed to do? I was never the bad bitch that was hard as steel. We used to be so good together, but then everything happened and shit hit the fan. I couldn’t be as soft as I once was and I couldn’t let him back in. It wasn’t fair to him. Not after the shit I put him through. 

“Thanks,” I said, turning on my heel. Thankfully no one called after me again, letting me get to my car and drive home in peace. Getting home, I walked in to shut the door behind me. It was barely 2pm but there I was going right for the vodka in my freezer. I’d been sober almost four months, but seeing Rhett. . . I couldn’t. It was supposed to be an easy grab and go, he’d get pissed and grouchy while I hauled his ass to jail. 

Then it turned into a sudden confession at the police station in front of everyone and their dog to see and hear. I hoped that was the last I’d seen of him for a while. If ever. 

Pulling a glass from my cupboard, I put a handful of ice in it before filling it with the liquor. I brought the glass to my lips, but paused. On the fridge was a magnet with a purple heart on it and the name ‘Penny’ in cursive letters. Setting the glass down, I dumped it out into the sink along with the rest of the bottle of vodka. Sleep would work better. At least then I wouldn’t wake up hungover. 

I pulled off my boots and jacket, texting Stevie that I got everything signed and turned in and that I was done for the day. Shutting my phone off, I moved to flop onto the couch after peeling off my tight jeans. My bra went flying behind me, letting me settle in the warm weather with my windows open. The apartment was modest, but then again, Rhett had kept almost everything in the divorce. I didn’t want it, so I left it with him and the house. It was for the best. I didn’t need much and it made for less stuff when I moved. 

Flipping on the TV, I turned it to good ol’ golf. I could put golf on at any time and it would put me to sleep. In minutes I was passed out on the couch, snoring without a care in the world. 

Until someone pounded on my front door. 

Groggily, I looked around, confused as the sun had set and I was suddenly chilly in my underwear and tank top. Another loud knock came that had me glaring at the offending door. 

“I’m coming!” I yelled, going to the door. Behind it in a small side table, I hid a Glock for when unsolicited callers came to the door. My previous job and being a bounty hunter didn’t exactly make for the safest of conditions. “Who is it?” I asked, hand on the gun hidden under the table top. 

“It’s Rhett.”

“What do you want?” I asked, not letting him in or taking my hand off the gun. 

“I want to talk to you,” he said. I heard him shifting around, waiting for me to answer. The thought to climb out my window crossed my mind, but he’d just follow anyways. Sighing heavily, I took my hand from the gun before I unlocked the door to open it. “Thank. . . You,” he said, his eyes trailing down my body. “Well then.”

“I was napping,” I grumbled, stepping aside. “Besides you’ve seen more of that.” I pushed the door to shut up, but it stopped when Link popped his head in. “Excuse me?” I said, looking between the two. 

“We need to talk about earlier,” Rhett said as Link walked in. “All three of us.”

“I don’t understand,” I groaned, scrubbing my face. “Why are both of you here?”

“Do you wanna put some pants on? We can turn around,” Link offered. I stared at him before looking to Rhett. 

“Just go have a seat on the couch, Hon,” Rhett said with a soft sigh, rubbing Link’s arm. My eye twitched at the gesture and nickname, but I stayed quiet. 

“I’ll be right back,” I said, going to the bedroom which was just part of the living room technically. It had a partition set up to kind of offer a sense of it being a different room, but I didn’t try that hard. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants to pull on before I rejoined the two men. Link sat on the couch, watching some show on TV while Rhett was in the kitchen, holding the empty liquor bottle. 

“Thought you said you were going to counseling,” he said softly. 

“I am,” I said, taking the bottle from him to put in the garbage. “It was in the freezer from almost 6 months ago. I poured it out, didn’t drink any.”

“Are you being honest with me?” Rhett asked, looking at me. His green eyes looked scared, worried, unsure. 

“I am,” I said. “Promise.”

“Good,” Rhett said with a nod before motioning to the couch.

“So, what was it you two wanted to talk about?” I asked. 

“Aren’t you curious how we found ya?” Link asked as I turned off the TV. 

“Not really. I know how you found me,” I said, pulling over a chair from my table as Rhett sat next to Link. “One of two options. Either you tracked me back through my phone records or you talked to my office manager, Stevie. Who honestly should know better than to give my address out, but I assumed you pestered her enough that she caved.”

“Wow, she is good Rhett,” Link said with a smile. 

“I told ya,” Rhett said with a chuckle. I felt a hint of heat in my cheeks. Rhett told Link about me? About how I was good at figuring stuff out? “Sorry, I told him you used to be a private investigator and he just thinks it’s the greatest thing.”

“I love all those detective movies where the police don’t believe the evidence, but that rogue investigator finds it all out and cracks the case!” Link said excitedly. It was almost annoying, but it was also sweet. I hadn’t felt excited, truly excited, like that in a long time. 

“It was mostly catching people cheating on each other,” I said. “Hate to break the dream for ya.”

“That’s not what Rhett said,” Link said. It was Rhett’s turn to get a bit red in the cheeks. 

“Oh really? What did he say?” I asked, smirking as I crossed my legs as I leaned forward.

“Not why we’re here,” Rhett said, covering Link’s mouth with his hand. 

“Then why are you here?” I asked, turning my attention to him. 

“We’re here to talk about us,” Rhett said, motioning between me and him. 

“What’s there to talk about?” I asked, sitting back up to cross my arms over my chest. “We’re divorced. We gave it a shot and it didn’t work out.”

“No, we gave it a shot and you called it quits. I was willing to work it out,” Rhett said with a sigh.

“Obviously you don’t want to anymore, you brought your boyfriend over,” I said, motioning to Link.

“Link, go ahead and show her,” Rhett said, looking to the other. 

“Show me what?” I asked. Link glanced from me to Rhett before he pulled up his shirt and pulled his pants down a bit. On his right hip was his soulmate mark. I swallowed hard, looking at it as tears pricked my eyes. It was the same as me and Rhett’s. Three small arrows. “Well, good for you, you found a soulmate after I covered my mark,” I said. “You wanted to let me know you’d moved on completely and that I shouldn’t contact you again.”

“No, that’s not it,” Rhett said as Link sat back down.

“Then what is it, Rhett?” I snapped. “What do you want? I filed for divorce, I left you, I moved away from you, and the first time I called you in 7 months is to arrest you, so you think that means anything?”

“You said at the station that you were still in love with me,” Rhett said.

“I said I still loved you. There’s a difference. I’m not in love with you,” I said. It was mean and nasty, but I couldn’t let him think there was a chance we’d have a happily ever after. I was too much of a mess and barely managed to keep myself going most days as a functioning adult. 

“But you could be,” Link said. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he didn’t flinch. “You could fall back in love with him.”

“I. . . I am not the person I used to be, Rhett,” I said, trying to swallow back tears. “I’m not the girl you fell in love with and I probably won’t ever be her again. I’m not who you want.” 

“Maybe Link’s right,” Rhett said, scooting closer to me. “We’re both different people, but we could fall in love again.”

“It has been over a year, Rhett,” I said. “You moved on with Link and I moved on. What is the point of us getting back together? We’re not good together.”

“No, we were,” Rhett said. “We just lost each other when we lost Penny.”

“Don’t,” I snapped, close to losing it. “Don’t bring her into this.” 

“You shut down so hard and pushed me so far away when we lost her, Syd,” Rhett said, reaching out to touch my knee. I sat still, rigid in my seat as I refused to look at him. “We all made mistakes and we fucked up. I fucked up. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me.” His voice was catching, making it hard to steel myself, to keep myself in my self appointed isolation. “It’s not your fault and I don’t blame you for anything. The drinking, the lying, the fights, I don’t blame you. Neither of us were in the right. I. . . I never stopped loving you. Even when I met Link, I still loved you just as much as I did before. I still do.”

I shook my head, feeling my shell crack as tears slid down my face. 

“You had a miscarriage, Sydeny. We lost our baby girl and I thought I lost you too,” Rhett choked out. We didn’t talk like this after we got home from the hospital. I had been seven months pregnant when something happened. There were sharp pains that I shouldn’t have had. Before we knew it I was in the hospital bleeding, hemorrhaging. The sac she was in didn’t develop right and it burst. By the time I was in delivery she was already gone. I barely made it out alive. 

“You’re not just one event in your guys’ life,” Link said suddenly, making me jump. “A loss of a child is one of the hardest emotional pains to endure and a lot of couples do divorce afterwards because it seems like the world has come down upon you. It’s okay to feel those feelings and work through them, but it seems that Sydney didn’t want to or didn’t have the capacity at the time to work through it with you, Rhett. These things take time and that may be what was needed. Time.”

“Link was my counselor for a while,” Rhett said with a soft chuckle. I looked at him, seeing the tears running down his cheeks and into his beard. “Then for obvious reasons I started seeing a different counselor.”

“The heart wants what it wants,” Link said with a soft smile and a shrug. “All that aside, Sydney, with everything Rhett has told me, I couldn’t deny him of seeing you. He loves you too much and I love him. I want us to be happy and even if that means we have separate relationships with Rhett or if you just want to be friends again, I am all for it. Being married and together for so long, as well as soulmates, makes for an intense relationship, but also one you can’t just forget and burn a bridge to with something like you guys. All I ask is that you consider it and we’ll work through it together.”

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “I don’t think I’m ready or ever will be ready.”

“Syd,” Rhett said, wrapping his hand around mine. “We don’t have to pick up where we left off. I just. . . I need you in my life. Please.” 

God, the feel of his hand around mine made me want to curl into a ball in his lap, let him rock me and hold me. It was so hard to keep myself in check. 

“How about a reset?” Link said. I looked at him confused, unsure what he was getting at. “You wipe the slate clean, you start over. That means, you start out as friends again, move on from there. I find it helps couples that feel they can’t get over certain bumps in the road to have an imaginary reset button. It’s been a year since you two have been around each other, you’re obviously in different places in your lives, and you have changed. A reset would probably be the best thing for you two.”

“So what, we just pretend nothing happened before now?” I asked.

“No, you definitely don’t do that,” Link said. “You start fresh. You acknowledge that you both have a past, but you don’t work around it. You work with it.”

“I’m on board for whatever you want,” Rhett said. I took a deep breath, holding Rhett’s hand without realizing it. 

“Okay,” I nodded. “I. . . I want to try the reset thing. I’m just going to be slow, so please bear with me.”

“I’ll go as slow as you want me to,” Rhett said. 

“As for Link, I think it’s best we keep it friends for now. Just because we have the same soulmate mark doesn’t mean we’re gonna get along perfectly,” I said looking to him.

“That’s the most I would ask for,” Link said, a smile on his face. 

“Give me a day or so. I’ll text you and we’ll go from there, okay?” I said, looking back at Rhett.

“Sounds good,” Rhett said, a smile spreading across his face as well. Even though we got what we all wanted apparently, why was I the only one not smiling? Why did it feel like I wasn’t going to get what was promised?

“I’m gonna give you two a minute, I’ll be out in the car,” Link said, getting up. He dropped a kiss to Rhett’s head and waved to me before letting himself out. 

“What?” I said, looking at Rhett as he stared me down.

“Do you really want to do this? To reset?” He asked. 

“If I didn’t, would I have said yes to it?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“No, but that doesn’t mean you’re letting it all out there,” he said. 

“I just. . . I don’t know. I feel like I let two strangers into my apartment to emotionally bully me into a relationship that I kinda do want,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know how to be or to act around you anymore.”

“It’s okay,” Rhett said, his thumb stroking the back of my hand. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll give you all the time and space you want.”

“What if I don’t want space?” I blurted out. I had shut down after Penny, pushed everyone away, and made myself alone. I did that to myself, but I didn’t want it anymore. Not when Rhett was offering to take me back, but. . . It still didn’t feel fair to him and Link. 

“What do you mean?” Rhett asked.

“I mean. . . I am so tired of being alone and I am so tired of pushing people away. I don’t care about the sex or kissing, I just don’t want to be alone again,” I said, managing to get it out before I broke down into sobs. Rhett didn’t let go of me though. Slowly, he pulled me from my chair to set me in his lap. His long arms wrapped around me, holding me tight as I sobbed against him. 

It had been so long since I’d had that simple comfort that I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to go slow and stay home by myself. I wanted to go with Rhett and Link and just stop being fucking alone. It was as if Rhett was reading my mind as the back of my hand began to itch under my tattoo. 

“Why don’t you come home with us for a while?” Rhett asked. “Don’t worry about anything, I’ll help you pack a bag and when you feel up to it, we’ll come back.”

“Okay,” I nodded, hiccuping from crying so hard. There was no fight left in me as he continued to hold me, only taking out his phone to text Link. A few more minutes and I walked with him like a child holding their parents hand to their bedroom where the monsters were. We packed a basic bag before I slid on a hoodie and grabbed my keys, phone, and wallet. With my place locked up, Rhett led me out to the car where Link was waiting in the driver’s seat. He didn’t say a word or make any fuss as Rhett got in the back with me to hold me as we drove back to their house. 

I knew Rhett had sold our old house six months ago, getting another one down the street from it. It was a blessing because I would not be able to handle going back into that house. 

Once there, I walked in holding Rhett’s hand. Link didn’t seem surprised at all by any of it. In fact it was almost like he was expecting it. “Here’s some water and ibuprofen, you probably have a headache and are dehydrated,” he said as he handed me both items.

“Thanks,” I said, taking them. 

“If you’re hungry we can order something or you’re more than welcome to lay down or even take a shower, whatever you’d like,” Link said as he took my bag for me. Going straight to their room. I knew it was their room because it had a huge bed I could see from the front. 

“I can sleep on the couch or the guest room,” I said, trying to back peddle from something I didn’t even realize was taking off so quickly.

“Don’t worry about,” Link said. “You’re probably touch starved and your soulmates haven’t been around in a year. It’ll create a tension of sorts, make you irritable, cause mood swings, depression, anxiety, general mental disarray. The best thing to do for it, if you can, is to be with your soulmates. That means you share the bed with us.”

“Us?” I said.

“Rhett sleeps in the middle, don’t worry,” Link said as he walked to the closet to grab extra pillows and blankets. 

“I think I’ve just been bamboozled,” I said. That little shit knew all along that I’d end up coming home with them. He probably knew about the tickets! Knew that I was a bounty hunter! I was going to have to keep my eyes on him. 

“Probably,” Rhett said with a chuckle. “He’s shifty like that. But, he is right. You’re probably touch starved, so you’re staying in the same bed as us. You wanna shower or anything?” 

“I just want to lay down. My head is killing me and everything is a bit much,” I said.

“Fair enough, keep drinking the water though,” Rhett said as he led me to the bedroom. 

“Yes, sir,” I said with a snort before taking a drink of the water.

“Oh, yeah, Rhett is definitely, Sir,” Link said as he put the pillows and blankets on the bed for me. I couldn’t help but choke on my water. “Oh, too soon?”

“I think she just needs to rest,” Rhett said, patting me on the back. 

“Okay,” Link said with a shrug. “Here’s a wet cloth for ya too.” He handed me one for my eyes before walking out. 

“Here, you get settled,” Rhett said, helping me get into the large, California King sized bed. “Need anything else?” 

“No, I think I’m good,” I said, letting him drape the wet cloth over my forehead. 

“Alright. I’m gonna go take a shower then I’ll be in to lay down with you, okay?” He said.

“Okay,” I mumbled, already falling asleep. It didn’t take long for me to do just that, but I woke up later as Rhett was sliding into bed. All the noises were gone from the usual household that was awake, telling me everyone was going to bed. I felt Rhett lay on his back, making it easy for me to move to lay with my arm over his belly. What I didn’t expect was another arm to lay over mine. At first I wanted to pull away, but the longer I let it stay, the more it felt right.

**Author's Note:**

> I am saving this as a draft at 5am because time is a manmade construct and i really wanted to get this ready for you guys before work so here it is! Also, do not use this fic as therapy advice. I'm pulling shit out of my ass, but it sounds nice when Link says it.


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